History Literature / JourneyToTheRiverSea

The family turns out to be greedy, and apathetic to her at best but Maia soon falls in love with the surrounding rainforest and life in Brazil, finds a ParentalSubstitute in her CoolTeacher, finds new friends and live a lot of adventures that most people want have been through.

* AngerBornOfWorry: Ms. Minton chews on Maia and Finn for [[spoiler: drifting together for several weeks without telling anyone that Maia in fact survived the arson. The poor woman was desperate to find her alive and was sinking to depression.]] She also scold them for neglecting their hygiene and education, at the point that quite humourously, Maia for a moment ''wished'' Minty deserted her.

* ChickMagnet: Clovis, who is the picture of the PrincelyYoungMan. [[spoiler: ''All'' three of Finn's cousins are looking forward to marry him when they grow up.]]

* FamilyOfChoice: [[spoiler: Essentially Ms. Minton becomes a second mother to Maia, and she's the daughter she never had. She also takes under her wing Finn, her deceased friend's son, and the ending implies that they are going to live together.]]

* FosteringForProfit: The only reason why the Carters accepted to adopt Maia was because their debts threatened to crush them and they needed a regular source of money to stave the ruin - the salary to care for her.

* SceneryPorn: Seriously, one wish they could go to the rainforest and see it with their own eyes.

* WhatTheHellHero: Miss Minton brutally chews out Maia and Finn for running away on the River Sea without telling anyone, ''right after'' [[spoiler:the Carter house burned to the ground and let Arabella believe her student had died.]]

* MyGod,WhatHaveIDone?: A chain of circumstances leads Maia to be left all alone with the Carters [[spoiler:while the house burns and no one is particularly interested in saving her]]. When Ms. Minton learns about it, she naturally jump to the worst conclusion, feeling painful guilt for not being with her that day.

* MyuGodWhatHaveIDone: A chain of circumstances leads Maia to be left all alone with the Carters [[spoiler:while the house burns and no one is particularly interested in saving her]]. When Ms. Minton learns about it, she naturally jump to the worst conclusion, feeling painful guilt for not being with her that day.

** Professor Gladstoneberry is associated with the giant sloth, as he often worries about the one skeleton in his museum and dreams of finding a living specimen.

* AdultFear:
** Finn Taverner isn't interested in coming back to the man who mercilessly abused his father and becoming his perfect heir. Unfortunately for the boy, Sir Aubrey doesn't want to take "no" for an answer and sends investigators on his tracks.
** The Carters are living under the constant threat of their debts causing their ruin and imprisonment.
** A chain of circumstances leads Maia to be left all alone with the Carters [[spoiler:while the house burns and no one is particularly interested in saving her]]. When Ms. Minton learns about it, she naturally jump to the worst conclusion, feeling painful guilt for not being with her that day.

* ThoseTwoBadGuys: Mr. Low and Mr. Trapwood, who are looking for [[spoiler: Finn]] and end up to be TheChewToy of Manaus throughout their stay.

* MixedAncestry: Finn was born from a romance between his Englishman father and his Brazilian native mother.

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: [[DeliberateValuesDissonance Per the norm for the Edwardian era]], several antagonistic characters are unapologetically racist and xenophobic towards the Brazilian Natives. Sir Aubrey actually worries about his MixedAncestry grandson not knowing English and living naked, and it's implied [[spoiler:the Crows refuse to consider an identity impersonator as the boy they ultimately bring back to England is much more acceptable due to his white skin and blond hair.]]

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: [[DeliberateValuesDissonance Per the norm for the Edwardian era]], several antagonistic characters are unapologetically racist and xenophobe towards the Brazilian Natives. Sir Aubrey actually worries about his MixedAncestry grandson not knowing English and living naked, and it's implied [[spoiler:the Crows refuse to consider an identity impersonator as the boy they ultimately bring back to England is much more acceptable due to his white skin and blond hair.]]

* CinderellaCircumstances: {{Downplayed}} with Maia, the Carters don't actually treat her like a servant, but they certainly put her down. Mama Carter uses Maia's money to buy things for her daughters but rarely gets anything to Maia. The poor girl wouldn't even get new clothes or piano lessons if Minty would be sending reports to her guardian about Maia's life with the Carters.
** How [[spoiler: the twins and their mama]] end up, since Lady Parsons decide to fire all of her servants to use ''them'' instead as she won't need to pay them. Karma is a bitch.

* VillainDecay: Sir Aubrey Taverner is depicted as an haughty, unforgiving, formidable man in his younger. [[spoiler: Clovis finds out that aging and the loss of hi sons have considerably mellowed him, and he dotes very much on who he believes is his grandson.]]

** A chain of circumstances leads Maia to be left all alone with the Carters [[spoiler:while the house burns and no one is particularly interested in saving her]]. When Ms. Minton learns about it, she naturally jump to the worst conclusion, feeling extremely guilty for leaving her alone that day.
* AngerBornOfWorry: Ms. Minton chews on Maia and Finn for [[spoiler: going missing for several weeks without telling anyone while Maia was believed dead. The poor woman was desperate to find her alive and was sinking to depression.]] She also scold them for their shabby state, for neglecting their hygiene and education, at the point that quite humourously, Maia wished Minty left her alone.

** Finn reveals the Carters' Native servants call the twins pigs for their gluttony and lack of manners. Maia reflects it suits them extremely well.

* AristocratsAreEvil: Lady Parsons doesn't hesitate to treat her impoverished relatives as servants, while the Taverners as they were in Bernard's youth were a bunch of bullies who mistreated their WhiteSheep to the point he ran away.

* ChickMagnet: Clovis, who is the picture of the PrincelyYoungMan. [[spoiler: ''All'' three Finn's cousins are looking forward to marry him when they grow up.]]
** We never see girls paying attention to him due to circumstances, but Maia speculates that the older girls in her school would definitely have the boys.for Finn.
* CinderellaCircumstances: {{Downplayed}} with Maia, the Carters don't actually treat her like a servant, but they certainly put her down.
** How [[spoiler: the twins and their mama]] end up, since Lady Parsons decide to fire all of her servants to use ''them'' instead as she won't need to pay them. Completely deserved.

* PlatonicCoParenting:[[spoiler: Mr. Murray decides at some point that Maia needs a motherly figure in her life, and that Ms. Minton could be the right person.]]

* SceneryPorn: Seriously, one wish they could go to the rainforest.

* SuccessionCrisis: Sir Aubrey Taverner owns a fancy estate. He has two sons and a daughter. The youngest son is a disappointment and gets disowned. The other son unexpectedly dies. The daughter gets married but gives birth to girls only, and in [[TheEdwardianEra this Edwardian setting]] daughters can't inherit titles (like the main plot of ''Series/DowntonAbbey''). Sir Aubrey eventually learns that his estranged son is dead and left a son, and the old man goes to look for his grandson.

** Also Clovis hope that Maia's foster twin sisters are nice, otherwise she would get doubled pain. He's proven right when the twins turn out to be horribly spoiled.

* FosteringForProfit: The only reason why the Carters accepted to adopt Maia was because their debts threatened to crush them and they needed a regular source of money to stave the ruin - the stipend to care for her.
* GreenEyedMonster: Beatrice and Gwendolyn were never nice to Maia to begin with - they are never nice to everyone - but become absolutely vicious when they learn from their mother that they are essentially living off from Maia's allowance because she's an heiress and they're poor. Also they hate her because she's nice and easy to like, but the thought that it's their fault if people don't like them never dawns on them.

* MalignedMixedMarriage: Finn's parents. His dad was happily married to a native woman from the Xanti tribe, and she was pregnant with their son. Unfortunately she [[DeathByChildbirth died of childbirth]] because white doctors refused to visit a native woman.

The story takes place mainly in Manaus, where the protagonist [[HeartwarmingOrphan Maia]] has moved from England.
Maia is a pre-teen orphan who lives and studys in a boarding school in England until her guardian Mr. Murray finds her relatives who are willing to take her in Brazil. Along with a governess, Miss Minton, Maia goes to Manaus, Brazil to start a new life with the Carters. So you think she'll be HappilyAdopted, right? [[WrongGenreSavvy Wrong.]]
The family turns out to be a bit messed up but Maia soon falls in love with the surrounding rainforest and life in Brazil, finds a ParentalSubstitute in her CoolTeacher, finds new friends and live a lot of adventure that most people want have been through.

** Finn Taverner isn't interested in coming back to the man who mercilessly abused his father and becoming his perfect heir. Unfortunately for the youth, Sir Aubrey doesn't want to take "no" for an answer and sends investigators on his tracks. Okay, that's a bit mitigated by the Crows' utter uselessness, but still.

** A chain of circumstances leads Maia to be left all alone with the Carters [[spoiler:while the house burns, and she's not found into the hospital afterwards]]. When Ms. Minton learns about it, she naturally jump to the worst conclusion, feeling extremely guilty for leaving her alone that day.
* AngerBornOfWorry: Ms. Minton chews on Maia and Finn for [[spoiler: going missing for several weeks without telling anyone while Maia was believed dead. The poor woman was desperate to find her and was sinking to depression.]] She also scold them for their shabby state, for neglecting hygiene and studying at the point that quite humourously, Maia wished Minty left her alone.

* LaserGuidedKarma: The Carters only wanted Maia for her money and never even tried to make her feel welcome. [[spoiler:The female Carters are forced to become servants to Lady Parsons who care not a whit for their blood relation.]]

* GreenEyedMonster: Beatrice and Gwendolyn were never nice to Maia to begin with - they are never nice to everyone - but become absolutely vicious when they learn from their mother that they are essentially living off from Maia's allowance because she's an heiress and they're poor. Also they hate her because she's nice and easy to like, but the thought that it's their fault if people don't like her never dawns on them.

* OfCorsetsHurt: Miss Minton is really unhappy about wearing a tight garment in the hot Brazilian climate. She ultimately decides to throw it in the River Sea.

* WhatTheHellHero: Miss Minton brutally chews out Maia and Finn for running away on the River Sea without telling anyone, ''right after'' [[spoiler:the Carter house burned to the ground and let Arabella believe her student had died.]]

* SuccessionCrisis: Sir Aubrey Taverner owns a fancy estate. He has three sons and a daughter. The youngest son is a disappointment and gets disowned. The other son unexpectedly dies. The daughter gets married but gives birth to girls only, and in [[TheEdwardianEra this Edwardian setting]] daughters can't inherit titles (like the main plot of ''Series/DowntonAbbey''). Sir Aubrey eventually learns that his estranged son is dead and left a son, and the old man goes to look for his grandson.

* UnwantedRescue: The Manaus police force admirably braved the River Sea to rescue several English people held captive among a native tribe. [[spoiler:They only manage to freak innocent Indians who welcomed a beloved nephew and his friends for several weeks.]]

%%* AristocratsAreEvil: Lady Parsons.

** Also Clovis hope that Maia's foster twin sister are nice, otherwise she would get doubled pain. He's proven right when the twins turn out to be horribly spoiled.

* JustJokingJustification: [[spoiler: Clovis tries to reveal to Sit Aubrey that he's not his grandson, but the old man has an heart attack and Clovis has to reassure him that it was just a joke out of pity.]]

* SuccessionCrisis: Sir Aubrey Taverner owns a fancy estate. He has three sons and a daughter. The youngest son is a disappointment and gets disowned. The other son unexpectedly dies. The daughter gets married but gives birth to girls only, and in [[TheEdwardianEra in this Edwardian setting]] daughters can't inherit titles (like the main plot of ''Series/DowntonAbbey''. Sir Aubrey eventually learns that his estranged son is dead and left a son, and the old man goes to look for his grandson.